The USEPA’s Construction General Permit (CGP) has been updated for 2012, in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act. The updated version provides streamlined permitting to thousands of construction operators, while protecting the nation’s waterways from stormwater discharges from construction sites. Discharges can contain harmful pollutants, such as nutrients, that contaminate waters. The contamination increases drinking water treatment costs and damages aquatic ecosystems.

The 2012 CGP updates include steps intended to limit erosion, minimize pollution sources, provide natural buffers or their equivalent around surface waters, and further restrict discharges to areas impaired by previous pollution. Many of the permit requirements implement new effluent limitation guidelines and new source performance standards for the construction and development industry, which include control techniques to decrease erosion and sediment pollution.

To access more information from the USEPA website on this topic, click here.